The Pirahã Tribe (September 22nd-27th, 2016)

Last lesson, we were briefly introduced to the existence of the Pirahã Tribe from Brazil. Unlike any other indigenous group, what makes this particular tribe immensely intriguing is the absence of the conceptional grasp of "numbers". This essentially implies that the people of the tribe have never been acquainted with the numerical system and fundamentally do not use numbers in their lives. In all honesty, I found this system (or lack of system) to be quite perplexing for the sole reason that as a species, our dependency on the number system is so great that it makes it rather difficult to even fathom an alternative world sans any digits. To break it down simply, no numbers equates to no validity of measurements and most importantly no concept of time. We know that sub-categories that can fall under time are limitless and hence I shall refrain from beginning to list all these elements. However, from an overarching perspective, the first question that may perhaps into anyone's mind after learning of such a tribe is— How do they survive? 

Well, in my opinion, one becomes truly dependent on something only when they are aware of its existence in the first place. For instance, if we look back in time, there was no Wifi or Facebook back in the 1800's. However, people did still live in those days. Today, for us to imagine a world without wifi or social media? It is almost frightening how much we depend on these tools. Thus, what I am trying to shed light is on the fact that the people of the Pirahã Tribe have survived multiple generations without the system of numerical values, perhaps simply due to the fact that they were never introduced to it formally to become dependent on it in the first place. The idea may sound oddly abstract, however when one claims that members of such a tribe may be intellectually dim due to their lack of number systems, all I can think of is how members of the Pirahã Tribe may believe that the rest of the population, heavily dependent on this "number system" is silly for overcomplicating lives with numbers. I am sure all people that despise algebra would agree with this facet of unnecessary complications that numbers have brought along with them.

But in all seriousness, I do not believe that one must establishes any prejudices against a group based on their societal norms and ways of living. In fact, after reading today's article and getting an in-depth insight into the structure of the tribe and their unique manner of communication, I truly believe that a study of the system they do use as opposed to that that they do not, would be of more significance. Furthermore, when I learnt that a neuropsychologist even went in and unsuccessfully tried to teach the people Portuguese numbers over the span of 8 months (which is quite a long time), the fact that they did not even try to absorb this system connotes their satisfaction with the way of life they are accustomed to. Who are we to tell them that their system is wrong and ours right? Perhaps the simplicity of their lives refutes the requirement of numbers? Why must we tamper with their beliefs?

I truly enjoyed learning about the intricacies of the Pirahã Tribe as this study allowed me to examine an alternative perspective that defies or/and challenges prevalent societal norms that we feel obligated to abide by.

Personal vs. Shared Knowledge (September 20th, 2016)

Notes

Personal Knowledge: I know that...

• Knowledge gained from direct experience, observations and reflections
• Knowledge of self  
• It can evolve 
• Is difficult to communicate 
• Is made of Ways of Knowing 
sense, perception, reason, memory, language, emotion, intuition, imagination

Shared Knowledge: We know that...

• Product of many individuals over time, and in different places. 
• It can also evolve over time 
• Is based of Areas of Knowledge

Groups that share knowledge:

• Family groups
• Religious groups 
• school groups
• governmental groups
• Language speaking groups 

Reflection

I personally believe that today's topic of choice: Personal vs. Shared knowledge was extremely captivating for the sole reason that the aforementioned types of knowledge are personified in our daily lives and go by unnoticed. Hence, in class, when we actually labelled the different components that constitute of each of the types of knowledge, it was quite an enlightening for me as both the knowledges are critical aspects of our life and I had never thought of the concept from this perspective. What I genuinely enjoyed about this particular class was also the fact that majority of the lesson was carried out as an open class discussion and I personally really enjoy these kind of lessons as everybody is able to contribute by presenting their own opinions and even share anecdotes that can instigate greater in-depth conversations. I look forward to the following TOK lessons to ensure learning more about other similar notions that we often take for granted. 

Maps? (September 5th, 2016)

Today's lesson primarily revolved around the term knowledge and several metaphors that have incorporated this term. For example, a few of the metaphors included- "Knowledge is a map", "Knowledge is a web" and "Knowledge is a collection of stories". Accordingly, at the onset of the lesson we had an open discussion about the significance of each of the metaphors and what essentially the purpose of these metaphors are. For me, the one metaphor that resonated the most was that knowledge is a map. Accordingly, when we were asked to group up and perform a small skit in order to personify the metaphor, this was the exact metaphor my group and I chose collectively. However, when it came to deciding how we wanted to convey this metaphor through a mime act, we were in a little bit of dilemma. Nonetheless, a little brainstorming led to us deciding that we would essentially pretend like one of the members of the group was perhaps lost and wondering about when suddenly he would stumble upon a "map". Once he would get hold of the map, the member then has some sense of direction instilled in them. However, in order to give the skit a little twist, we asked the member to tilt the map around and view the same map from different angles. Consequently, the significance of these actions was to assert the fact that knowledge can essentially be comparable to a map as it gives an individual the power to determine the difference between which path to pursue. Nevertheless, at the same time, a map can be viewed from a range of varied angles which then allude to the element of perception. Perception is distinct from one individual to another. Hence, despite the fact that two individuals may be bestowed with the opportunity to gain similar knowledge, it is perception and self-judgement that shall determine how the person acknowledges the gift of knowledge to unravel their own story. At the end of our skit, we were also asked to comment on perhaps some limitations that this metaphor may entail. Subsequently, the main limitation that we came up was that if one decided to follow the map in an orthodox way they risk the chance of imposing restrictions on their perspective on life, which provokes the thought of how one must be willing to step out of their comfort zone and explore with an open mind. People must learnt to balance their control over the knowledge they contain, in such a way that when asked to perhaps evaluate or question their pre-existent knowledge, they can actually bend their thought process and transcend what is limiting them.

The Beginning! (September 1st, 2016)

Today, we had our second lesson of TOK and were essentially introduced to the fundamentals of "How do you know?" and "Do you even know?" Personally, I find these questions to be rather intriguing but simultaneously also a little daunting. The primary reason for this can be attributed to the undercurrent of constantly questioning minuscule aspects of any and all elements in our life. It is indubitably true that the discussions we had in today's lesson have allowed me to view our society and the world in general from a completely different perspective. Particularly, what appealed to me was the revelation of the fact that in the early 1500's, the world maps were designed to be very Eurocentric. This was honestly a thought that never occurred to me. In fact, whilst the short clip we watched in class focused relatively on the cartography of the world and the several distortions that humanity has blindly accepted and embraced, on the other hand, the clip certainly made me realize that maps are only one of the many things that we are taught to simply accept without questioning. Nonetheless, the core of the TOK lessons emphasize solely on questioning the depths of such elements that never seemed perhaps odd or unconvincing. Accordingly, despite the fact that often times, I myself may not know how to answer a certain question, the incredibly open discussions and debates we have in class give me an insight into the thought process of those around me and ultimately I seem to always find my head nodding in appreciation and awe at the range of ideas that every individual comes up with. So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed the TOK lessons and hope to develop a questioning attitude to widen my horizons and learn how to look at the world from a completely different lens.